This French toast bake recipe with cinnamon and almonds is perfect for brunch or a fancy weekend breakfast. Soak the brioche bread in the egg mixture overnight, and all you need to do in the morning is bake. Drizzle with honey, and dust with powdered sugar and it is ready to serve.
This recipe is one of those indulgent breakfast recipes. Perfect for those days when breakfast needs to be extra special – first day of school holidays, an Eid breakfast, brunch with friends or family, or just a lazy Sunday at home. Not only does it make the house smell fantastic, the prep time is minimal (under 15 minutes) and can be done the night before. The French toast sits in the fridge overnight soaking up all that egg mixture, and in the morning all it needs is almonds and brown sugar on top. Put it in the oven, and 40 minutes later the French toast bake is ready to serve. All it needs is a dusting of icing sugar, and a drizzle of honey on top.
How to make overnight French toast bake?
Prepare the tray: Grease a 18 x 24 cm (7 x 9 inch) rectangle tray with butter. In case you don’t have this size of tray available, use any other size or use two. Just place the brioche slices in the tray first to make sure they all fit – you can always add an additional slice or skip adding one, in case they don’t all fit.
Make the egg custard: Start off with making the egg custard. Whisk eggs, cream and milk together and then add vanilla and cinnamon for flavour. Also add a pinch of salt.
Soak bread in the egg mixture: Place the egg mixture in a large bowl or plate. Dip the brioche bread in the egg mixture and layer them in the tray, propping one bread slice next to the other. Cut the bread slices as needed to make sure they fit in all the corners. Don’t fit too tightly as the bread slices will expand once they soak up the egg mixture. Pour over the remaining egg mixture over the bread slices, making sure each slice is covered in the egg mixture, and then cover with foil. Keep in the fridge overnight or at least for 6 – 8 hours.
Bake: In the morning, remove the foil and sprinkle brown sugar and sliced almonds on the French toast. The bread slices should be puffed up as they would have absorbed the egg. Cover with foil again, and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes covered. Remove the foil, and then bake for another 15 – 20 minutes till the top of the French toast is golden brown and sliced almonds are toasted.
Serve: Remove the French toast bake from the oven, and let sit for about 10 minutes. Drizzle with honey, dust with powdered sugar and serve with more honey and fruits.
Tips and tricks on making baked French toast:
Get the right bread: This recipe regards a sturdy bread that can absorb the egg custard and still maintain its shape. The best bread is brioche however challah can also work. A baguette or French loaf once sliced could also work, but an additional tablespoon of sugar maybe required.
Make sure the bread slices are soaked properly: Make sure that all the bread slices are soaked in the egg mixture. I do this by first dipping the bread slices in the egg mixture, and then layering it in the tray. When I drizzle over the remaining egg custard over the bread slices, I use a spoon to separate the bread slices and make sure the egg custard gets in the middle of the bread slices. This is why it’s important to not fit too many bread slices in the tray – the bread slices need a little bit of space to expand and soak the egg custard.
Play around with the flavours: I have used cinnamon and almonds to flavour this French toast bake, but you can use other flavours of your choice. Walnuts, pecans or pistachios would taste wonderful in this French Toast Bake. Try some nutmeg and perhaps orange zest for fall inspired flavours - you can also make an orange syrup to drizzle on top instead of the honey. Salted caramel sauce is another topping that would work well for this decadent brunch recipe.
Looking for more breakfast or brunch inspired recipes – check these ones on the blog below:
- Avocado Mushroom Toast
- Mushroom and Cheese Omelette
- Crepes with Salted Caramel Sauce and Strawberries
- Air Fryer Parathas
- Breakfast Qeema
Would love it if you could try out and rate the recipe, and let me know how it was in the comments below!
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📖 Recipe
Overnight French Toast Bake | Baked French Toast with Almonds and Cinnamon
Ingredients
For the Egg Custard:
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup cream
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- Pinch of salt
For the French Toast:
- Butter for greasing tray
- 1 loaf /450 gram brioche loaf sliced
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey plus more to serve
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Fruits to serve
Instructions
For the Egg Custard:
- Place eggs in a large bowl or dish. Add the cream, milk, granulated sugar, cinnamon, vanilla essence salt. Whisk together well and set aside.
For the French Toast:
- Butter a 18 x 24 cm (7 x 9 inch) rectangle tray.
- Dip each slice of brioche bread into the egg mixture, coating it on all sides and then place it in the greased tray. Fit the slices into the tray, with each slice propped against each other. Once a row is complete, cut the remaining slices in half and prop them in the leftover space.
- Pour the remaining egg mixture over the bread, making sure each slice is covered.
- Cover the dish with foil, and refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours.
To bake the French Toast:
- Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F convectional or 160 C / 320 fan forced.
- Remove the dish from the oven, and sprinkle with brown sugar and sliced almonds. Cover with foil again and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove the foil after 25 minutes, and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes until the top is golden brown and the liquid is fully cooked. Don’t bake for too long as the French toast will start to get dry.
- Remove from oven, and cool slightly. Drizzle with honey and dust with powdered sugar. Serve with honey and fruits.
Nutrition
Anum says
This is such a delicious and easy recipe to make for brunch dawaats